The Point of Purity Podcast

Fully Supplied

• Steve Etner • Season 4 • Episode 192

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God not only has the power to free you from your sinful habits but has given you that same power to stay free. You don’t have to sin. You are never backed so far into that proverbial corner that you have no choice but to give up and give in. God has fully supplied you with everything you need to live in freedom and victory.
 
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“[God] is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (Deuteronomy 32:4) Consider what I just quoted. God is sufficient for ALL your needs and desires. 

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #192. Last week we began a new series taken from a book that I am currently writing. This week’s episode is simply entitled “Fully Supplied.”

 

In Philippians 4:19 The Apostle Paul declared, “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Simply put, only God can fully supply you with pure joy and perfect satisfaction. 2 Corinthians 3:5 tells us that “our sufficiency is from God.” And in 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul reminds us that “God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need, and plenty left over to share with others.”

Let me encourage you to make note of the repeated use of the word “all” in the verses I just quoted to you. “All” means all, and that’s all “all” means. God is truly all you need! God’s love for you, and the amazing grace He gives you, is grander than anything you can possibly comprehend.

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

Let those words settle deep into your soul. Let me repeat them, and as I do, let them wash over you, encourage you, and bring you joy. “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

In other words, the Lord your God, the almighty, all-powerful, most holy creator of the universe, heaven’s victorious and mighty warrior, is with you. He not only dwells within you, but He also surrounds you. He is in your midst. He hasn’t left you. He hasn’t forsaken you. He hasn’t given up on you, and here is the most amazing truth – He never will. He hasn’t said, “Okay, you’ve turned your back on me and given in to your sinful desires one too many times, so I’m done with you.” No. Not God, because that is not who He is. He is the One and only True God, and as God He is mighty to save.

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.” (2 Timothy 2:13) And in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 he declared, “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” Why? Simply because “the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3) And so I ask the question Paul asked in Romans 3:3, “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?”

Furthermore, God thoroughly delights in you with gladness. Psalm 149:4 tells us that “the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” This is why “He brought [you] out into a spacious place; he rescued [you] because he delight[s] in [you].” (Psalm 18:19) You see, “The Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.” (Psalm 147:11)

Do not lose sight of the Biblical truth that God not only has the power to free you from your sinful habits but has given you that same power to stay free. You don’t have to sin. You are never backed so far into that proverbial corner that you have no choice but to give up and give in. Don’t take my word for it. 2 Peter 1:3 promises us that “His divine power has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” He has given you the power to be free.

Why then do you still struggle with your sinful habits and fleshly desires? Why do you give in to the temptation more times than not? Why is it so hard to stay consistently godly? Mostly because you have yet to learn and understand how to fully, completely and unreservedly trust God and use the spiritual tools and weapons He has given to you. You have yet to sincerely choose on a daily (moment-by-moment) basis to submit to God, resisting the devil, and watch the enemy flee from you (James 4:7). God’s promise in Scripture is that when you “Draw near to God … he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

It is my deepest passion and greatest prayer that as you work your way through life you will find yourself drawing closer to God. As we just saw in Zephaniah 3:17, God already takes great delight in you. He longs for you to see His miracles displayed in the most spectacularly outstanding masterpiece He has ever created—you. He wants you to recognize and realize His unfathomable and incomprehensible love for you. His love is not based on your performance. He does not love you more because you resist temptation. His love for you is not contingent upon your “success rate” at being a person of integrity, godliness, and purity. He loves you just the way you are. 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) “This is love: not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8) “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16)

God is crazy about you. He loves you unconditionally. There is absolutely nothing you can do to make Him love you any more or less right now than you could have a moment ago or a year ago or tomorrow or even five years from now. Because of His unfailing, uncompromising love for you, He stands with you right now ready, willing, and able to lead you to freedom from your sinful habits.

So, What’s the Plan? Truth be told, there is no “plan” here. Although you have been and will continue to learn biblical truth and godly principles throughout this entire podcast series, this is not supposed to be a “checklist” kind of thing. You won’t hear me say, “Start doing this and stop doing that and voila, you’ll be godly.” I don’t want you to turn any of the things you hear on this podcast into a set of laws or rules that you must try to keep in order to be “good” or pleasing to God. You do not want to go through life dependent upon a list of dos and don’ts, especially if they are not biblical.

As a born-again believer “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, ...? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.” (Colossians 2:20-23)

Living for God is not strictly about following the rules. Rules by themselves will not make you “godly.” Just following the rules will not quench your thirst. If we focus all our attention on rules, then when we break one of them, we will feel like we’re a failure. That is precisely when the enemy will chime right in, trying to convince us we are never going to be free. So, I do not want you to learn a set of rules just for the sake of following the rules. They will not set you free. In fact, religious dedication to the rules on their own will just put you into a different kind of bondage. 

I am talking about changing your way of life, starting from a changed heart. Your primary goal must be a real, genuine change from the inside out. You cannot expect to change your behavior if you have not first chosen to change your heart. If you prayerfully apply yourself to what the Holy Spirit is going to teach you, you will discover you can be the person God made you to be. You will discover the abundant life Jesus talked about in John 10:10; a deeply and totally satisfying life. You will experience His perfect, loving, and holy touch of healing. 

Let me share with you a short story I wrote, inspired from Acts 3:1-19.

“He had been a cripple since birth. Born with twisted feet, incapable of walking without help, he was branded by society as an outcast. Unable to work, he was reduced to the daily task of begging for money just to feed himself. And so, every day, as far back as he could remember, he sat next to the temple entrance, head bowed low, basket raised high above his head, begging the passing worshipers to find it in their hearts to give him something—anything.

“On this particular day, a day no different than the one before, or the one before that, or the thousands before that, the beggar sat in his usual spot, crying his usual cry, expecting the usual result. However, today his life was about to drastically change forever; it would change in a way he could never have anticipated.

“It was nearly three in the afternoon, and Peter and John were on their way to the temple to pray. As they arrived at the entrance, the two disciples stopped, looked down at the beggar, and did something no one had ever done before. Everyone else ignored him. Everyone else gave him a wide berth, pretending he did not exist. Everyone else averted their eyes, shook their heads, and rushed past. But Peter and John stopped to talk to him.

“Look at us!” Peter instructed. Shocked, the beggar slowly raised his eyes toward the two men who dared speak to him. “Money, we do not have, so we cannot give you money.” Discouraged, the beggar lowered his basket and began to look away. “However,” Peter continued, “what we do have, we freely give you.”

“Reaching down and taking the beggar’s hand, Peter spoke with a clear and authoritative tone. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Instantly the beggar felt something he had not felt before. Strength flowed like a mighty river into his ankles and feet. Then he did something directly from the pages of his wildest dreams: he jumped to his feet and began to walk all on his own, something he had never done before in his life.

“Giddy with excitement and awe, he followed Peter and John into the temple, all the while jumping, spinning around, clapping his hands, and shouting for joy. The commotion inside the normally quiet temple drew a large crowd. Many of the people recognized the beggar. News spread fast that the cripple who had been sitting at the temple entrance all these years was now inside, walking and jumping. Yes, jumping! Truly, a miracle had just happened.

“Seizing the opportunity to give God the glory, Peter spoke up. “Men of Israel!” Pointing to the beggar who was still jumping for joy, he continued, “Why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we made this man walk? God did this! And He can do the same thing for you!”

“Peter paused, looking into the eyes of everyone in the courtyard. Taking a deep breath, he shouted, “Repent, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord!” (Inspired from Acts 3:1-19)

Could it be that you are just like that crippled beggar? No matter your particular sin-struggle, you’ve discovered that on your own, you cannot walk the path of godliness. You have tried, but you cannot because you are crippled by your sinful, King Me centered desires. 

Let me assure you, there is hope; there is help; there is lasting victory and freedom; and it comes only from God. This is what Paul meant when he said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) God told Isaiah, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) And God told Paul that “my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). 

 

OK. Let’s hit the pause button until next week’s episode – where we will continue our new series entitled “Overcoming Self Worship: A Journey to Godly Living.”

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com.

And if you haven’t subscribed to this podcast yet, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!

So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, Certified Professional MentorTM and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.